The Ridgway Secret Shopper Scam

Today's economy has made scam artist take their profession to a new level. They lurk around on the internet and send job offers. Who doesn't need a job or at least interested in earning a few dollars part time? The market is wide open and just ripe for picking. So, beware of the "Ridgway Secret Shopper" scam!

Just imagine, getting paid to shop and keeping the products you bought. You hear about secret shoppers and think this is a good way to have your cake and eat it too. You are comfortable with the idea of testing products and offering product knowledge and customer service feedback to the company. You have heard of people getting scammed but you may not know how it happened. It isn't always as simple as just send me some money. They are professionals and offer something that appears genuine. My story is priceless and no one including my friends could see through it.

I was contacted by email and offered a job to be a secret shopper. It read as follows:

Ridgway shoppers are accepting applications for qualified individuals to become mystery shoppers. Its fun and rewarding, and you choose when and where you want to shop. You are never obliged to accept an assignment. There is no charge to become a shopper and you do not need previous experience. After you sign up, you will have access to training materials via e-mail, fax or postal mail.

About us - Ridgway Shoppers is the premier mystery shopping company; serving clients across America and Canada with over 500,000 shoppers available and ready to help businesses better serve their customers - Secret shopping as seen on ABC News, NBC News, and L.A.Times. Stores and organizations such as The Gap, Wal-Mart, Pizza Hut, and Bank One pay for Secret Shoppers to shop in their establishments and report their experiences. On top of being paid for shopping you are also allowed to keep purchases for free.

They sold me. Mentioning it was on TV made it official. Ridgway is a registered business. So, I sent my name and address. Per the second email, I had to provide them with the names of Wal-mart and Western Union businesses in my area. Oh boy, did I load up. I sent 20 Wal-Mart locations and 25 Western Union locations. I figured I would make a handsome part-time income and this was a legitimate business.

Within a day, I was accepted as a Mystery Shopper/Survey Agent. I was to go to the store and act Cool, Calm, and Confident. I was not to arouse any suspicion. They wanted me to report my findings on: how long it took to get services; ambiance/Outlook of the Shop/Outlet; smartness of the attendant; customer service; professionalism; reaction of personnel under pressure; and any information that I think would be helpful.

Obviously, this was an extremely easy assignment to make $300.

Everything sounded good until I receive the check. A cashier's check arrived issued from Bank of America in the amount of $2,970.89. I was caught off guard because it arrived by DHL during an Obama Inaugural party I was hosting. Seeing the bright yellow card board envelope, I opened it and showed the check to my friends. At that time I didn't know who it was from. The return address on the envelope was L3 Communications in Muskegon MI. Everyone examined the check and verified that it was an official cashier's check. I concluded that the check was from investments I owned and was quite happy for my windfall.

I decided that I would do some additional research the next morning and you won't believe this!

Later that day, I was emailed this set of instructions:

The Payment you have just received covers all expenditures including evaluation, shopping, transport and your compensation (Salary = $300) for this survey. You are to purchase Goods of your Choice for your own Use at any Wal-mart store in your city spending not more than $100.00 altogether. You will be using $50 for transportation.

Also as regards Western Union, we will be using our company feed-back mechanism therefore you will be sending funds through Western Union outlets in your City, back to Us. As we are evaluating transactions above the $2300 mark, you will take $2500 to the Western Union Outlet you will evaluate. You will have to pay the Western Union transfer charges $125 out from the $2500, the final amount you will send will be $2375. Please send all transactions to the details below.

Name: Brian L. Shadowers (Logistics and Feedback) - Sterling IL.

Now I became suspicious. Why do you need so much money sent by Western Union? Why are you giving me an IL location to send the money, the envelope is from Muskegon MI and the check was drawn on a bank from Oakland CA? The Bank of America address on the check was not valid. There was no such address in Oakland CA. L3 Communications, the name on the return envelope, is a prime surveillance contractor and has nothing to do with Wal-mart, Western Union, or secret shoppers.

I decided to meet with a bank manager and report what I had found before I allowed a teller to cash the check. The manager confirmed that the account number on the check was a confirmed fraud. The incident will be reported to their security department.

Fortunately, I didn't deposit the money in my account and send my cash to the receivers. I hope this will help someone from becoming a victim. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it's probably a SCAM! Beware of the Ridway Secret Shopper scam.